


A Laugh In The Darkness

by bokuakakurookentrash



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Eventual Relationships, Gore, Heavy Angst, M/M, Slow Build, illumi has a thing for his dad, underage hisoka has sex with multiple adult characters, unnecessary smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-02-12 11:06:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12957879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokuakakurookentrash/pseuds/bokuakakurookentrash
Summary: All that could be heard in the cold, abandoned warehouse was the bone chilling sound of a boy laughing.A quiet shadow disappeared from the corner of the room as if never there.





	1. A Distasteful City

**Author's Note:**

  * For [emanthony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emanthony/gifts).



> this work is dedicated to emanhony whose fic "The Longest Job" got me into this pairing.
> 
> sorry if this is not your cup of tea. i tend to be extreme.
> 
> i may or may not continue this so i suggest not getting too invested

Illumi disliked Zaban, he found it positively distasteful.

 

It was a city of petty crime, filled with drug dealers, shady businesses and even shadier people.

 

The boy dodged the body of a large, hairy merchant and pulled his beige foulard over his nose, covering his face and blocking out, if only a little, the permanent stench that lingered in the streets of that God forsaken place.

_'I need to get this job over with as soon as possible'_ he thought, as he moved out of the way of a cart made entirely of what seemed to be rotten wood.

 

When his grandfather announced that he was ready to go on his missions alone, Illumi had been so excited that when his father described the job to him, he hadn’t been discouraged by the absolute lack of information on his target.

 

He was starting to regret that now.

 

He had arrived in the city two days prior and was still without a lead.

_Amar Karafun, gender: male, age: unknown, connections: unknown, occupation: con artist, description:_ _long brown hair and a hooked nose._

_Distinguishing marks: none._

 

Illumi cursed him for being so average looking.

 

Apparently Amar had scammed his very rich client and made him lose 10 000 000 jenny invested in a nonexistent stock.

_Curse him too_

 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a shout and figure running past him, leaving behind nothing but a fleeting laugh and a sweet scent in the air.

 

The hairy merchant he had seen before started yelling, “Ye bloody thief! I’ll cut ye’r bloody han’s off next time I catch ye steeling from me!”

 

Illumi sighed, he didn’t dislike Zaban, he hated it.

 

 

“I did see the fella”

 

Illumi almost let a sigh of relief escape his lips, after four days he had finally found someone who had seen his mark.

 

His informant took a sip from his pint, “He was talking to Karal ‘n her boy a few hours ago”

 

_Good, a name_

Illumi slid the man 5000 Jenny “Where can I find this Karal?”

 

The man blinked in surprise but took the money “Ye’r not from around‘ere are ye?”

 

Illumi discovered that the woman was well known among the habitants of Zaban, for she owned almost all of the establishments in the gambling and red light districts.

 

“Listen,” said the man “I don’t know why ye’r looking for Amar an’ I honestly don’t care, but don’tcha go sticking yer nose in Karal’s business, ya hear me?”

 

The boy tilted his head to the side “Why not?”

 

The man gulped down more of his beer and sighed, “The woman owns this city. Her eyes are everywhere I tell ya.” he stared past Illumi, his gaze unfocused “She’s a beast to be feared.”

 

Ignoring the warning Illumi kept investigating, determined to get rid of his mark and go home. A few other residents refused to give him any kind of information but after a few hours he managed to gather enough to find her.

_Full name: Karaline, surname: unknown, age: 32, connections: the mafia, the police, politicians and other prominent public figures, occupation: former prostitute, business woman, residence: Morow's whore house._

 

A black car pulled up beside him, the boy stared as the door opened. A woman came out and took a drag from her long cigarette holder.

 

She was tall and angular but by no means frail, a strong layer of muscle covered her entire body. Her hair was golden and voluminous, cropped right beneath her ears and parted to the side. Her makeup was so thick it was almost a mask, but her eyes, also golden, where staring straight at him with such intensity it made him feel exposed.

 

A tasteless leopard print fur sat on her wide shoulders and partially hid how her long, black evening dress hugged her boney hips. Despite that, Illumi didn’t miss the slight bend of fancy fabric on her upper thighs.

 

_Garter straps, five throwing knives on each of them._

 

The boy, on full alert, narrowed his eyes at her.

 

The woman smirked as she began to make her way towards him in long predatory strides, her red, pointy high heels clacking on the pavement with each step. She stopped just a foot away from Illumi who was now fully ready for battle.

  

“When I heard a Zoldyck was looking for me,” With incredible speed she grabbed his face and leaned towards him “I assumed it would be a hunk, I wouldn’t have dressed up if I knew it was for a brat like you.” She took another drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke in his face.

 

Illumi recovered from the shock fast and freed himself from her grip, it didn’t take long for him to connect the pieces together “You’re miss Karaline I assume” It seemed she had found him before he could and she already knew who he was. 

_This woman is trouble._

 

“Pinpoon~ correct!” she clapped her hands making the many bracelets she was wearing clink together.

  

“I’m surprised your parents actually taught you how to speak! I thought Zoldycks were a family of mute killing dolls, I’m actually impressed to find I was wrong~” she put her hand in front of her mouth in fake surprise “Whatever have i done to have someone unleash a Zoldyck puppy on me?” she asked this while passing her hand over where her knives were, a warning.

 

Illumi had the feeling there would be quite a lot of reasons for someone to want her dead. He suppressed his rage and ignored her insult to the Zoldyck name. “Actually, I was originally looking for-“

 

“Amar right?~” she rudely interrupted, still smirking annoyingly. The woman was toying with him.

 

“I’m sorry darling it seems I can’t really help you with that.” She made an over exaggerated pout “You see, he is currently paying me back for a favour~”

 

Illumi blinked, expression as impassive as ever despite his growing irritation “What do you mean?”

 

She seemed to read his thoughts anyways and her smirk grew “You see, my son wanted oh so badly to have a playdate with him~” she said “So I agreed that his debt would be paid if he agreed to play along” the lady laughed “I can never say no to my boy! I would gladly let him kill me if he asked” she ….joked?

 

“I see. Could you tell me where I can find the two?” Illumi was a bit surprised at how annoyed he sounded.

 

Karal clapped her hands once more, clearly amused “Ah~ since you asked so nicely I’ll tell you!” she then murmured, “It’s not like you’ll be able to kill Amar anyways.”

 

_This b i t c h_

The woman put out her cigarette, “I’m quite sure they’ll be right outside town, there are many abandoned buildings Hi-chan likes to play in~”

 

Finally his answer.

 

Illumi thanked her through grit teeth and immediately started running toward the outskirts of town, obviously trying to get away from her as fast as physically possible.

 

Karal’s nasal laugh followed him all the way to his destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka's mama's looks are inspired by Dolores del Rio (except her hair and eye colour ofc), personality was inspired by a Hispanic woman i meet in my psychiatrist's waiting room sometimes. She is very eccentric and quite rude but she gives me toffee candies so i like her.


	2. So Sick, So Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ THE NOTES. THEY ARE IMPORTANT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!! ATTENTION !!!!!!
> 
> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A VERY GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A SEX SCENE BETWEEN AN UNDERAGE HISOKA AND A GROWN MAN.
> 
> THE ADVANCES WILL BE MADE BY HISOKA AND HISOKA WILL ALWAYS HOLD THE REINS OF THE EXCHANGE, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE ACT IS JUSTIFIED.
> 
> MAKING THE MINOR THE ONE WHO INITIATES AND LETTING HIM HOLD ALL THE POWER DOES NOT MAKE HIM GUILTY, THE CHILD IS ALWAYS THE VICTIM.
> 
> I BY NO MEANS CONDONE ANY KIND OF SEXUAL ACT INVOLVING A MINOR AND AN ADULT.
> 
> IF ANY OF YOU COMMENT THIS BY SAYING YOU THOUGHT IF WAS 'HOT' I WILL REPORT YOU.
> 
> THE REASON FOR INCLUDING THIS SCENE IN THE STORY IS FOR THE READER TO BE REPELLED AND APPALED BY THE STRANGE AND PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOUR.
> 
> IT'S ALSO ONE OF MY WAYS TO DEAL WITH MY OWN TRAUMA.
> 
> FUTURE CHAPTERS MIGHT ALSO CONTAIN THIS KIND OF CONTENT, THEY WILL BE SLIGHTLY LESS GRAPHIC AND CRUDE BUT IF YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE TRIGGERED BY VIOLENCE I SUGGEST YOU DON'T READ THIS FANFICTION FOR IT WON'T CONTAIN TRIGGER WARNINGS OTHER THAN THIS.
> 
> IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR AND YOU DECIDE THIS IS NOT FOR YOU, PLEASE GO ON AND ENJOY SOME LIGHTHEARTED FLUFF INSTEAD.
> 
> FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE FIC BUT NOT UP TO READING THIS CHAPTER THERE WILL BE A CONCISE RECAP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER'S NOTES.
> 
> TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE GOING TO CONTINUE READING: THERE WON'T BE ANOTHER TRIGGER WARNING WITHIN THE CHAPTER BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER IS A TRIGGER. 
> 
> GOOD LUCK AND PLEASE DON'T COME COMPLAINING TO ME ABOUT THE CHAPTER IN SPITE OF ALL THE WARNINGS I HAVE ON HERE.

 

“Well I’ll leave It to you, kaaaay~? Have fun Hi-chan~!” Karal waved gaily at the two figures walking away, she looked gorgeous in the colors of the sunset.

 

Amar was far too pissed off to appreciate the view.

When the woman suddenly called and started blabbing about wanting him to pay her back for the favour she did him almost two decades ago, he had agreed to meet her because Karal was _hot._

 

Yes, she was also a nutcase, but Amar who had been a loyal costumer of hers in the past, had developed a taste for the woman he had never quite gotten over. And so he had come all the way from Yorkshin in hopes of getting another taste.

 

One could only imagine the anger and disappointment he felt when he discovered he would be paying his debt by having to hang out with her snot-nosed son. Amar stared at the prepubescent brat and clicked his tongue.

_Why in the world should I babysit this little shit?_

‘Hi-chan’ turned around from where he was skipping in front of the older man “Because I get bored easily, and I would _love_ to play some wrestling with someone as strong you~” the boy winked.

 

_Yep, this kid’s a creep. Truly his mother’s son._

“Glad to know mind reading runs in the family” Amar mumbled sarcastically.

 

‘Hi-chan’ just smiled and faced the road in front again.

 

 

“How long is it going to take to get to where we’re going?” the man asked, rubbing his hands together from the cold. They had been walking for more than an hour and the sun was long gone, replaced by a full moon.

 

“Who knows~” came the carefree reply.

 

Amar rolled his eyes, annoyed. He considered abandoning the little runt and going home but a familiar sharp yet honey-sweet voice sounded in his head. 

 

_Well, why don’t you try that? If you’re prepared to lose the use of both eyes that is~_

 

He kept walking.

 

Bored out of his mind he found himself staring at the small figure in front of him and frowning. October nights weren’t the coldest in Zaban but they weren't exactly warm either, yet the boy wore nothing but a bright green jumpsuit with the sleeves rolled up and some sneakers.

 

_Brat must be freezing_

 

Amar shook his head and clicked his tongue, he told himself it was none of his business if the little runt ended up getting sick, but as the night got colder and colder he found the ridiculous choice in clothes harder and harder to ignore. Cursing himself he eventually offered the kid his jean jacket.

 

‘Hi-chan’ looked surprised for no more than a second before putting it on. He smirked and laced one of his arms around the adult “Why, thank you~” he purred in a way that could not be described as anything but lecherous, the gap between the young face and the tone of his voice made the man involuntary shiver.

 

‘Hi-chan’ seemed to notice and he chuckled in an incredibly irritating way, not at all unlike Karal.

 

“How old are you even? Is that any way to speak to your elder?!” Amar lashed out, flustered.

 

The kid rubbed his cheek against the man’s arm, completely unaffected “Tonight, I can be as old as you want me to be~” he had the audacity to flirt, looking up with those golden eyes, so similar to Karal’s. Amar choked on air and turned his his face away awkwardly.

 

_This is bad. This is very bad. This brat is nuts._

 

More than once he tried to shake the kid of but 'Hi-chan' would only laugh and grip tighter. So Amar just shrugged and kept walking careful to ignore the way ‘Hi-chan’’s eyes burned holes in the side of his head or how warm the places the kid touched felt. He absolutely made sure to ignore how good he smelled. Sweet, like the scent of a freshly ripened peach when you first bite in to it.

 

Suddenly the kid stopped abruptly “Say, mister,” he addressed the older man as he started caressing his muscular arm with his fingers “For how long have you been wanting for the chance to fuck my mom again~?”

 

It took a moment for the man’s brain to process just what he had been asked, but when it did he flushed bright red “W-what are you talking about!” he said, way too loudly and made the mistake of facing the child.

 

There it was, Karal’s signature smirk, sitting on the brat’s lips and blending with his young features seamlessly, as if it was always meant to belong there, and for a second, while he stared into those sultry golden eyes, Amar caught himself thinking it looked so much more attractive on this tiny young face than it ever did on Karal's.

 

Just where had his life gone wrong to even live to have such a disgusting thought, the man pondered while leaning in in an attempt to wipe away from those mocking lips the smirk which drove him into insanity.

 

‘Hi-chan’ didn’t kiss like a kid at all, nudging at his lips with his tongue, insisting on making the older man open his mouth. It was messy and rushed and  _wrong_  , it filled Amar with need.

 

The man slipped his hands under his jean jacket and felt the softness of the young boy’s sides, he moved his lips to his neck and started licking and biting the skin there, desperate to leave the mark of corruption on his pale untainted skin.

 

Oh, and the sounds, the beautiful sounds coming from ‘Hi-chan’’s lips where nothing short of lewd, he wasn’t even trying to pretend he didn’t enjoy having the older man all over him. Every time Amar found a sensitive spot the boy would shiver and give a soft high pitched cry not at all unlike a woman. 

 

By the time Amar started gripping and fondling his ass the kid was trembling in want but when he felt the large hands unzipping his jumpsuit he pushed the man away with surprising force shook his head, smirk back in place “If you want that~ you’re going to have to fight me first” he demanded.

 

'Hi-chan''s hair was a mess, chocolate locks sticking up in all directions, his flushed cheeks contrasted with the rest of his pale skin and his lips were bright red and slick with saliva.

 

He looked so good Amar found himself agreeing, “Yes, sure, whatever .you want”.

 

 

The warehouse was cold.

 

The wooden ceiling and roof had cracks in them that let the pale moonlight shine through. The inside was surprisingly clean of debris. The only piece of furniture was an old tattered mattress in the corner of the room.

 

‘Hi-chan’ started stretching “The rules are simple” he announced, “the first one to make the other unable to move wins”

 

_Okay, I can work with that_

Amar smiled. There had only been rare occasions in which he was thankful for having been a mercenary for most of his life and this was definitely one of them.

 

“If you win” the boy licked his lips “You get to fuck me” he said staring straight into the other’s eyes.

 

Amar breathed a shaky breath “What if you win?” he asked out of pure curiosity.

 

“It’s a secret~!” ‘Hi-chan’ stuck his tongue out.

 

_What a little shit_

The fight started abruptly: the boy immediately charging towards the man at full speed.

 

_Fast_

 

He went for a punch, the adult blocked it easily, but the force of the impact was enough to make him slide a few steps backwards.

 

_Strong_

 

‘Hi-chan’ straight up moaned as Amar’s counter, a kick to the kid’s side, connected and he collided on the ground.

 

The man smiled. He was just as excited as him now.

 

The boy quickly got up and approached again, this time deciding to stomp on the man’s face from above. He saw Amar preparing to grab him by the feet so he changed his stance lifting one knee up. Only one of his feet got caught and he man couldn’t avoid the kick from the other, Amar lost his grip and watched as ‘Hi-chan’ prepared for his next attack.

 

_Smart_

 

The two exchanged blows for quite a while, the fight looked evenly matched: a punch for every punch, a kick for every kick.

 

During an intense exchange of punches the boy started to look more and more drained, he was blocking blows more than dealing them and his movements got slightly slower.

 

_Gotcha_

Amar prepared to deal the finishing blow, he put all the strength he could into a very powerful punch but, before it could connect, his opponent smirked _‘I knew you’d do that’_ it seemed to say.

 

‘Hi-chan’ ducked at an amazing speed and threw a powerful kick at the adult’s kneecap.

 

_CRACK_

Amar’s scream echoed through the warehouse. It was the kid’s win.

 

The boy dragged the adult to the mattress “I won right? So now I get to do what I want!” he eagerly exclaimed, golden eyes wild.

 

The man, still in pain, struggled to free himself, unsettled by the look in ‘Hi-chan’’s eyes, but he relaxed and chuckled when he saw the boy taking off his obnoxious jumpsuit “If your goal was the same as mine why didn’t you just let me win?”

 

The kid, now naked, pulled the adult’s cock out of his pants “And where is the fun in that~?” he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer before taking it in his mouth.

 

 

When the abandoned industrial area finally came to view, Illumi sighed in frustration, it extended for miles.  It was dark, he was cold and it would have taken ages to figure in which one of the buildings would have found his mark.

 

Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before he heard a scream, he quickly made his way towards the noise.

 

It took him half an hour to reach the warehouse and by the time he got there, all that Illumi could think of was getting rid of the fucker as quickly as possible so he could return to the warm and cozy comfort of his chambers.

 

The boy, who had been awake for days, walked towards the entrance then mentally scolded himself and headed to one of the second floor’s windows.

 

Until that moment he had assumed that Karal’s son was younger than him and the lady gave him to Amar so she could get a good night’s rest. He was so tired that he had already pushed the sound of the scream all the way to the back of his mind. Illumi had expected to find some kind of pathetic domestic scene waiting for him when he finally arrived to take the target’s life, maybe he would have even brought the child back to his mother.

 

The echoes coming from inside startled his sleep deprived brain wide awake. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when he peaked through one of the cracks in the ceiling.

 

The pale boy illuminated by the moonlight couldn’t have been more than four years older than him yet, somehow, the loud vulgar noises he was emitting didn’t seem at all out of place coming from his mouth.

 

His mark sat on a tattered mattress, his left knee was purple, clearly broken. He was panting as he bounced the _child_ up and down over his dick.

 

Illumi stood frozen in place for what felt like ages.

 

“Ah~ AAhn~!”

 

A particularly loud moan made him flinch. He watched the boy tremble.

 

“I’m getting close, Mister~ Please, please make me cum~!” he was repeating that over and over and scratching the other’s back so hard it was bleeding.

 

Illumi felt sick as he watched Amar grab the smaller dick and jerking the kid off, his hand so big it covered it all easily. Another adult hand, one he was very familiar with, came to his mind making his insides feel funny.

 

He covered his ears, desperately trying to block out the sounds the man was emitting, “I’ll let you cum, but you have to be a good boy and wait for me yeah?” Amar said in his deep and husky voice.

 

The assassin considered going down and ripping the two apart from each other, then rip their hearts out too just so he wouldn’t have to witness any more of that disgusting scene, of those disgusting feelings that were rising inside him at the idea of a different man holding _him_ that way.

 

As the two seemed to get closer and closer to the climax, Illumi was reaching his own limit, he was ready to take action, to get rid of both of them, when something completely unexpected happened.

 

A sudden outburst of bloodlust came from the brunet boy as he grabbed Amar’s throat and squeezed, pressing his thumbs down, hard against the man’s esophagus.

 

His mark gasped and tried to pry the hands off him, while he weakened because of the lack of oxygen, the kid only smiled and moaned harder as he kept riding the now dying man, looking into his scared frantic eyes.

 

Just as the man struggled one last time, the boy stuck his nails into his throat and came hard and dry as blood splattered over him.

 

 

Illumi wanted to go home.

 

He was exhausted physically and emotionally, his mark was dead, that meant he was free.

 

Why couldn’t he move?

 

He had been surrounded by death all his life, he never thought much of killing people before, he didn’t dislike it but he didn’t enjoy it either. To him killing was just a job.

 

Witnessing a murder shouldn’t have affected him that much yet, something was keeping him glued to the spot, unable to tear his eyes away as the older kid affectionately ran a hand through the corpse’s long hair and stood up to get dressed, ignoring the white viscous liquid sliding down his thighs and dripping on the floor.

 

"Darling~" while zipping up his jumpsuit the kid nudged the lifeless body “Time to get up~” he said and then started laughing as if he had witnessed the best comedy of the year.

 

As he listened to the genuine, shameless pleasure in the boy’s voice, Illumi heart skipped a beat.

 

The shape of the shadows made by the moonlight filtering through the cracks in the roof?

 

_Wonderful._

The dead body of his target, eyes glazed over, dick out, broken knee and shattered neck?

 

_Magnificent._

The smell of blood and with a hint of something sweet flooding the room?

_Exquisite._

 

The pale boy laughing and still covered in that same blood?

 

_Beautiful._

Illumi sent a text to his father _‘the target is dead. I’m coming home’_ and then vanished in the shadows as he came.

 

The boy's laughter echoed in his ears all the way just like his mother's had.


	3. A Mother And Her Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we're all going to empathize with the creepy, pervert clown whether we like it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey fore those of you who didn't read chapter 2 but still stuck around here's what happened in a speedy recap  
> *narrator voice*  
> PREVIOUSLY ON ALITD  
> hisoka wants to fight amar.  
> his mom makes a call to the man telling him his needs to pay his debt back  
> amar agrees to meet her in hope of wooing her  
> amar gets stuck having to hang out with her kid instead  
> to get the fight he wants hisoka flirts with the man using the fact that he looks just like his mom at his advantage  
> they end up fighting if amar wins he gets to bang hisoka  
> this is super problematic and gross bc hisoka is a literal child  
> kisoka wins and he decides he also wants to bang amar  
> illumi arrives at the scene and sees them together  
> hisoka killes amar during sex and laughes in joy  
> illumi falls in love with the spontaneity and beauty of hisoka's killings

Hisoka really respected his mother, It was the pure and unaltered truth.

 

Karal had started at the very bottom, sold to a pimp by her own parents at the tender age of 9, she had to endure all kinds of things to survive in the war that was her everyday life, but surviving had never really interested such a smart, prideful child as Karaline, her goal was one and one only: winning.

 

And boy, did she ever.

 

She had done everything she could to become as known as possible. From the different tastes in personality her clients had to weird sex toys and extreme kinks, she had absorbed everything she learned ad applied it until she was popular and well liked amongst even the wealthy.

 

With popularity came freedom and when Karaline was finally allowed to have her own money, her plan was put in action. For years she anonymously sold the pricy gifts she received, she then invested the money in secure stocks she had heard her economist and banker clients bragged about investing in themselves.

 

Karal had been playing a very slow and calculated game of Monopoly right under the nose of the people who only thought of her as a ‘good fuck’ and when it had been time to collect the jackpot, the entirety of those people had gotten a massive financial assfuck.

 

A truly well deserved one.

 

By the time she was 17 she owned almost a quarter of Zaban city, she had completely reformed the parts of the gambling and red lights districts she controlled, she made sure to keep all of her employees happy and agreeable so they had no reason to revolt.

 

After years of living under pressure and changing her personality every night to suit her clients, the woman was a wreck and people had noticed the weirdness in their leader’s behaviour.

 

Instead of moving to one of the presidential suites of her many newer buildings, Karal had decided to stay in the red light district, on the last floor of the brothel she herself used to work at.

 

If asked why the answer was always the same: ‘To protect my girls, of course~’.

 

Karal was prideful, moody, witty, sarcastic and she absolutely loved drama, everything she did seemed to be selfish and out of the blue, she seriously did not understand some human emotions, but she protected her own and that was all that had mattered to the community.

 

It still did

 

With her people being on her side betrayal was out of the question and thanks to the immense jar of dirt she had collected during her many years of listening to her clients’ gossip, she had become untouchable by the outside.

 

Her little kingdom had just kept growing from that point on.

 

Karaline loved her child, more than her life.

 

When the woman had discovered she was with child a year later, she had been beyond herself with joy at the thought of finally being able to keep it, of course, considering her personality, It was going to be a challenge, but one that she was willing to accept.

 

Karaline had promised herself she was going to grow and better herself alongside the baby, she was going to be an understanding and kind mother and, ultimately, she was.

 

Except for her daily shade with a cup of tea of course.

 

Hisoka always loved the name his mother had given him.

 

_Secretive, enigmatic, inexplicable_

It fit like a glove.

 

It had taken the woman three years to choose it. One day, the toddler, at the time only referred to as ‘baby’ and ‘my sunshine’, had decided to play hide and seek and without telling anyone, he had disappeared.

 

When the adults had realized he was nowhere in the house, Karal had started a crazy search through the city, all the Ladies and his mother’s close friends had looked for him until late in the night. When they had returned at the brothel, dragging a protesting, hysterical Karaline with them, they had found him sitting in the lobby on the carpet humming and playing.

 

The adults had been furious with him, they had screamed over each other, faces red in rage and worry, they had lectured him over and over, but his mother had fallen silent, her eyes staring at him, expression unreadable.

 

“Where have you been?” it had been a simple question, asked calmly, but when Karal had spoken it, everyone had stopped speaking immediately.

 

The small child had just smiled at her and said “Shhh! Secret!”

 

That had been it for his mother, giant tears had started pouring out of her eyes “DO YOU NOT REALIZE HOW WORRIED I’VE BEEEN? NEVER, EVER DO THAT AGAIN, _HISOKA_!”

 

Hisoka loved his name, given to him on a nasty whim of a moment, even though Karal had been insisting for years that she would give him nothing but a perfect name.

 

After all, the woman wouldn’t be his mother without her antics.

 

He admired Karal like one would a queen. He loved to see her work in his office, kicking debt collectors’ asses, managing everything on her own and somehow always finding time train him, to cook him meals and sit at the table with him every single day.

 

Hisoka was extremely proud of his mother, proud of his childhood surrounded by the cheesy pink wallpaper, the tacky furniture, the sweet taste of cheap bubble-gum and the laughter of the Ladies he considered his extended family.

 

The teenager’s childhood had been a cheerful one, maybe not a typical one, not one where the white noise at night wasn’t the sound of many girls moaning in unison, but a happy one nonetheless.

 

 

Hisoka loved his mother more than anyone else in the world.

 

While walking home on that October night years prior, the eleven year old had decided to keep the fact that he had slept with Amar a secret.

 

Karal was a strong woman but he had noticed that she had been worrying sick about the sexual, sado-masochistic tendencies her child was starting to display during his fights, she had probably been blaming herself for raising him in a brothel and the warm to ice the personality she had, not that she would have ever told him.

 

Or so he had thought.

 

It had become evident the preteen had made the right choice when he had seen his mother sitting at the kitchen table tapping her perfectly manicured fingers on the wood, she had been looking at baby pictures of him and instead of her usual smirk, there had been a pained look on her face. “Welcome back, Hi-chan” she had greeted him.

 

“Hello, mama~” he had walked over to her, “You look horrible, that expression doesn’t suit you at all~” he remembered putting his arms around her, only to be surprised at how cold her body had been. “It’s okay, I came back home, see?” he had whispered, hugging her tighter.

 

The woman had sighed deeply “I always worry” she had sounded drained in any way possible “Your obsession with fighting keeps getting worse and worse, the look on your face before a fight is absolutely disgusting” she had said “ And there I go again, saying mean things. I wonder if it’s my fault you turned out like this, I wonder if it would have been better not to train you when you were so young.” without her makeup she had looked older than her age, so fragile.

 

Hisoka had tried to reassure her that, considering how many enemies she had, teaching him how to fight had been the right choice, but Karal had turned around facing him, shaking her head.

 

“I’m too unstable! If I had let go of my ambitions, of my pride and selfishness I wouldn’t have had to teach you how to fight in the first place! If I had just sold everything to raise you in a better household, you wouldn’t have been exposed to the violence and filth of this world so soon! If only I could have been a better mother..” she had then shaken her head wiping her tears away along with any trace of weakness, “Forget that shit. Just promise me not to take it too far. I don’t want you to get hurt, Hisoka.” she had finished, staring with determination into her son’s eyes, a twin set of hers

 

Hisoka had only promised her he would never get hurt “I’m the strongest of all fighters after all~”

 

The woman had then scoffed giving up, then, she had smirked, “Just be careful yeah? Now you better get that blood off of you before you go to bed, you wouldn’t want to fight mama, would you?”

 

Her son had worn a mirror expression of hers while he had blurted out the only possible answer he could have given “Actually, I would love that.”

 

Hisoka remembered his mother’s retort to that comment all too well.

 

“I know you would, you get off on that crap!” she had laughed her irritating laugh, unaware that her worst fears had already come true and that, had been no joke at all.

 

 

Hisoka, now 15, stared at the corpse of his mother, laying face up on the stainless, funky neon carpet of the common room, the hint of a smirk cornering her lips even though her chest had been penetrated, her heart ripped out then placed in her slender manicured hand. Her throwing knives were nowhere to be found.

 

He had come home from one of his 'fights', satisfied and hungry for his mother's home cooked lunch only to be met with her corpse. Hisoka inhaled ' _Cachopo_ ' he accessed coldly. The mom he admired, the mommy who had always been there for him, his mama, who he loved so very much was laying dead on the floor in front of him but, at that moment, he couldn't shed one tear.

 

It was as if that snippet in time had been cut away from the original timeline, as if someone had robbed from him of his moment of humanity and replaced it with a single, cold word, making it the only thing his brain could come up with to describe a scene that would have rendered even the most ruthless soldier a mess.

 

_Elegant._

 

The boy calmly packed the few things in the house he valued, cradled her cold body in his arms and left, walking towards the woods not bothering to turn off the burner.

 

Digging a hole in the still frozen dirt with his bare hands proved to be a good distraction from the hurt that was finally seeping into his heart at the realization that, out of the many bodies he had created and will create in the future, the only one he would ever bury was going to be Karal’s.

 

Hisoka felt sick when he saw the results of his efforts. The pain becoming so insistent, not even he could avoid clenching his jaw.

 

The woman was wearing her favourite fur coat, the teen had fixed her hair and makeup, trying his best to make her look at peace, but her defiant smirk had stubbornly remained on her face.

 

The beautiful but poisonous potted plant she treated as if it was her pet was placed through the hole where her heart used to be, he had made sure to cover all its roots carefully with dirt so it could continue living.

 

In her arms she was cradling the big red music box in which she had kept his first baby shoes, the few pictures they had taken together, all of her impressive jewelry collection and finally, this one item just added: her heart.

 

_Truly the finest addition to your collection, mama~. No other jewel could ever compare._

 

He ended up throwing a few pieces of candy he had in his pocket in the grave as well.

 

_Just in case she gets hungry in the Afterlife_

 

Not that either of them really believed in such a thing.

 

Hisoka took one last good look at the woman whose dramatic expressions he would never see again, whose shrill voice and nasal laugh he would never hear again, in whose kind arms he could never find comfort or warmth again.

 

The tears came all at once, the boy let them flow freely he slowly started filling in the grave with dirt burying his mama and the small piece of human empathy that he had left in him.

 

_Goodbye._

The teenager hoisted himself off the ground and walked away, further into the woods, carrying the last items linking him to a family of any kind.

 

A silver hairbrush, cosmetics and a set of French playing cards.


	4. A Child And His Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi has daddy issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING
> 
> this chapter may make some uncomfortable because it hints to Illumi being secretly attracted to his father.

Illumi’s eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw the look on his father’s face.

 

Silva Zoldyck was a man whose appearance screamed ‘powerful’, standing at 6’6’’ feet tall, his presence was enough to intimidate the bravest of men.

 

His stance gave away the strict, gruesome training he had undergone his entire life and his sharp features adorned by his signature grim and dignified expression, only added to that image of unbeatable strength.

 

When Illumi saw him returning home after his mission looking nothing short of ridiculously confused, he almost dropped his baby brother in surprise. The toddler gurgled in disdain, catching their father’s attention.

 

The expression was gone so fast it made the boy wonder if it was ever really there, he bowed his head in respect, “Welcome back, Father.”

 

Silva nodded shortly in reply and started methodically taking off his work clothes, butlers rushing to bring him a clean bathrobe.

 

Illumi tried his best not to let his gaze linger on the way his father’s back muscles moved while he changed and he definitely did not notice the droplets of water sliding down his strong shoulder blades.

 

The boy had not realized the way he looked at his father wasn’t normal, he hadn’t known just what he wanted from the man until a fateful night five years prier, when he witnessed pure insanity in the form of golden eyes and unsettling laughter.

 

The sound of the heavy front door opening mixed with the one of thunder “Ho, ho! Looks like at least someone’s mission was interesting!” Zeno Zoldyck walked inside covered in blood and rain.

 

“Grandfather, welcome back” Illumi bowed his head once more, Alluka’s chubby hand pulled on his hair as he looked up.

 

“Father, we weren’t expecting you for another two days” Silva walked towards the older man and clasped his already extended hand in a strong handshake.

 

“Well, it turns out they don’t make cult leaders as strong as they used to” the older man joked “Very disappointing indeed” Silva nodded in agreement.

 

The boy stood awkwardly, not sure if he had been excused from the conversation yet. His brother started squirming in his arms so he adjusted his hold and went back to listening.

 

“So,” Zeno had already changed out of his bloodied clothes and was now wearing a robe not unlike Silva’s “What kind of fighter has got my soon looking so shook?” he asked, amused.

 

Illumi watched as his father sighed uncharacteristically, “The profile said my mark was a skilled _Conjurer_ and very good in a close-range fight. I was expecting a long thought out battle but,” the man mumbled low enough that Illumi couldn’t hear the end of the sentence.

 

The boy unconsciously frowned, bothered by Silva’s actions. What kind of person dared make his father act so human? What kind of intense personality could have made him so baffled that it even showed in his voice?

 

Since the day he was born, he had never received anything but cold evaluation from the man. No matter how perfect his disguise, how strong his pain resistance, how clean his kill, Illumi knew he would never receive more than a nod of unimpressed approval.

 

The only people who had ever made his father look anything but stern were his grandfather, his mother and more recently, his younger brother Killua.

 

Illumi had eventually learned to ignore the ugly feelings of jealousy he had, towards Kikyou especially, and had tried to resign himself to the fact that nobody in the world, not even him and his other black haired siblings, would ever be able to climb the wall of utter indifference separating them from Silva Zoldyck’s heart.

 

The old man raised an eyebrow “Sorry I didn’t hear, she said what?” he asked in a serious voice, only his eyes betrayed his glee.

 

Silva’s ears went slightly pink as he repeated himself louder “She just smirked and told me I was late”

 

The sound of tacky jewelry clanking and familiar smirk flashed across his mind.

 

Illumi saw red.

 

It had took him 12 years of his life to stop himself from obsessing over how to obtain his father’s affections, 12 years of desperately trying to pull any kind of reaction out of his the man. Even something as fleeting as the shadow of a smile thrown his way would have been enough for him.

 

The boy had not spent his whole life clawing at the impenetrable wall to see some irritating woman effortlessly walk through it as if performing a magic trick.

 

Zeno laughed wholeheartedly, if it was at his own displeased expression or at Silva’s, the boy didn’t know. The old man made his way towards the baths, followed by his scowling son and a swarm of butlers.

 

Illumi let his breath escape, by the time his annoyance had cooled off, the butlers had already cleaned the floor and he was the only one left in the entrance. It took a while for him to realize Alluka was crying and throwing a fit in his arms: the boy had unconsciously been digging his nails into the toddler’s flesh and blood was gushing out of his round thighs.

 

_Mother is going to have my head._

 

The boy made his way to the infirmary as fast as he could, Kikyou was already there, rubbing her very prominent baby bump with one hand and holding Killua’s smaller one with her other as a butler wrapped the sniffling toddler’s ankle "Killua my dear, mama is so proud of you! You didn't even cry when i cracked it!"

 

Illumi did his best to swallow his concern, Killua was his father’s favourite child and he looked so much like him that the boy couldn’t help being biased as well. Instead of taking a step towards the wounded little one, he held his breath and slowly took a step back while the woman was preoccupied fussing over the future heir.

 

Thankfully Kikyou didn't notice the slight movement in the hallway. The oldest Zoldyck sibling had never been more grateful for his mother's flaws, her bad peripheral vision and tendency to drop her guard when distracted being the only reasons why he hadn't already been caught. However, the miracle didn't last, Alluka who had forgot the pain in his thighs the second he had spotted Killua decided to make their presence known by gurgling out a happy "Kiiii~"

 

Illumi cursed as his mother screamed in horror “What have you done to my baby?!” The woman cried, furious.

 

The boy panicked desperately trying to form an excuse but nothing came to mind. There was no way she would forgive him if she knew the truth, Kikyou was going to torture him or worse, she was going to tell her husband what he did. Illumi could deal with indifference, but his eyes threatened to water at the idea of Silva coming to hate him.

 

The woman made sure Killua was safely seated on one of the beds before walking towards her older child in fast menacing steps, Illumi, scared and still holding Alluka, couldn’t react fast enough.

 

The slap echoed through the hall.

 

Kikyou smiled sweetly and asked “Illumi dear, what did you do to your baby brother?” and just like that, the conditions were met for her power to work.

 

‘I’m doomed’ was the boy’s last free thought before his mother took over his mind and he listened to his own voice answering her question honestly, exposing all of his twisted feelings.

 

 

When his torture was finally over, Illumi's ears were ringing after a night of hearing his mother's loud hysterical voice lecturing him. He walked directly into his room, not bothering to bathe or have breakfast, or stop by the goddamn infirmary. 

 

Illumi winced at the sight of his hands, his mother had slowly removed all of his right hand's fingernails one by one and the squishy flesh underneath was bleeding from where she had cut small incisions in it purposely using a very dull knife. The woman had taken her time sliding it over the soft sensitive nail bed, increasing the pressure until she finally managed to draw blood.

 

His left was no better, his fingers purple and bent at odd angles. Kikyou had ordered him to hold his hand upright so she could smash it with a hammer, but despite her instructions Illumi had curled it. After the tool collided on Illumi's fist, the woman, furious, had proceeded to snap his fingers sideways with her own hands. The boy suppressed a noise from escaping his mouth while snapping them back into place.

 

When he walked to the mirror, his shirtless reflection stared back at him blankly, the boy lifted his right hand to his black and blue torso and started assessing the damage with the knuckle of his thumb. 3 broken ribs, one inclined. 

 

_Not too bad_

 

Illumi turned around and his eyes widened slightly, there was a crust already forming over the angry whip marks his mother had given to him after pouring boiling water over his back "No, no, no..." the boy whispered softly, he clenched his jaw and in one swift motion he bent forward hunching his back. Tears started forming at the side of his eyes as parts of the crust were forcibly ripped of his wounds, still hunched over, he sat on his desk chair so the backrest was pressed against his left arm, fresh blood was sliding down his spine.

 

If he wanted to be able to move before his training he had to make sure to flex his back in different ways every few hours in order for his blood to coagulate uniformly over the entirety of his wounds. Illumi opened the top drawer of his desk and grabbed a gauze roll. As he was wrapping his broken fingers his eyes burned but he didn’t allow himself to cry, he concentrated instead, hoping to catch his parents’ conversation from the dining room.

 

“Good morning” the boy shivered at the fond tone of his father’s voice.

 

“Good morning, dear” a pause, ‘ _probably a kiss on the_ _cheek_ ’ Illumi thought, bitterly “Where are the kids?” she asked as if she cared.

 

“Illumi was with you” he trembled again, hearing the man say his name “Milluki just finished training with father's butlers, Killua and Alluka are playing before their own training.”

 

“Oh, I see” Kikyou, satisfied with the answer, started eating "Do you have any jobs today?"

 

The boy listened anxiously to the sound of small talk and cutlery moving, dreading the moment his mother would bring up _why_ Illumi had been with her all night. Waiting for the moment she would expose his sins for his father to judge, but she never did.

 

Apparently, the accident that she had tortured their oldest son all night wasn’t even worth mentioning to her husband and of course, Silva did not ask. 

 

_I hate her_

 

His mother claimed to love Alluka just as much as she loved Killua. She doted on him endlessly and freaked out every time he got injured. Her love for the child looked real, but Illumi knew the truth.

 

He himself had once had been the object of her undivided affection, until he turned four, then she had another child as if already bored with her first. Kikyou had done the exact same to her second child, showering him with 'love' and attention only to toss him aside when she had her third. 

 

Unlike him, his brother had always loved his mother so when it happened, something in him shattered and to make matters worse, Killua was deemed to be the heir, something Milluki could never become. After failing to get her to look his way over and over again, what could the child do but hate his new baby brother the way his mother hated him? Of course he searched for comfort in food, what other coping method could a seven year old come up with? How could he stop himself from escaping to an imaginary world when there was absolutely nothing for him in the one he lived in?

 

His mother ruined Milluki and now she constantly complained about his behaviour as if she hadn’t broken the child herself.

 

_I despise her_

Of course she was never going to get bored with Killua, the golden child, the one and only Zoldyck heir, but she was surely going to destroy Alluka, and then the still unborn baby Kalluto, it was but a matter of time before it happened. She would do what she did to him and Milluki all over again and his father wouldn't even blink at her actions, further proving how little he cared about them.

_I want her gone_

 

No matter what Kikyou did to hurt their children, his father would still love her all the same. Illumi clenched his fists in anger wishing he was strong enough to fight his mother. He wanted to be able to tear open her brain and fuck it up just like she could do to him, he wanted to make her obey all of his orders, to see just what it would take to make his father finally snap come to hate her…

 

A twisted thought went through Illumi’s head and he whimpered at the pleasure it brought him.

 

_Maybe, just maybe, if I get strong enough I can make him mine, I can make him love me the same way he loves her. In the west wing, privately, at night and unconcerned by those who hear._

 

Silva’s head turned towards Illumi’s chambers as he felt the explosion of his son’s dark powerful Nen aura for the first time.

 

The corner of his mouth twitched.


	5. Hisoka Meets The Circus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> my own take on Hisoka's origin story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on Dec the 18th 2017. edited on Jan the 3rd 2018.
> 
> i decided to add more to this chapter.

It had taken Hisoka no longer than a day to lose all interest in his past in Zaban and after half a year of travelling around the Kukan’yu Kingdom, avoiding Hunter Association Territory or course, the boy was bored again.

 

Hisoka decapitated an infamous retired soldier and sighed. He had come looking for her after hearing she lived in a small mountain village in the west of the kingdom. She was not worth the trouble.

 

_Such a letdown~_

 

All those he had challenged in the past few months were defeated one by one. He had become exponentially stronger than before and finding a good opponent was becoming more and more difficult.

 

The boy threw the woman’s head at the wall in frustration making it shatter, he sighed again, uncharacteristically unamused by the display of blood and brains splattered all over.

 

Hisoka decided to search the house in hope of keeping himself entertained.

 

Thirty minutes later, all he found out was that the soldier’s first name was Emi, the corpse in the master bedroom, missing its limbs, belonged to her wife Seraphine and, based on the brochures and the two first class blimp tickets, they were planning to go to Glam Gas Land on their honeymoon.

 

He hesitated in taking one of the blimp tickets. He had already been to the city before when Karal had brought him along on one of her business trips. Hisoka didn’t exactly like the idea of finding himself in a place filled with casinos, hotels and entertainment of all kinds, it was dull, he’d already seen that kind of world, in fact he was born into it.

 

It was also true that he was bored to death and the tickets would be a free pass to go to the United States of Saherta, a whole new country to explore where he was sure to find people of every kind.

 

 

It was a warm September night in Glam Gas Land, Hisoka had arrived an hour prior and he was now observing the residents of the city from under a streetlight on the side of the main road. They did not look of feel any different from the ones he had encountered before.

 

Hisoka was shuffling his cards halfheartedly, already uninterested when suddenly, he shivered and felt goose bumps start to form on his arms. He laughed like a maniac as he analyzed his surroundings.

 

_Where? Where is it coming from?_

 

His eyes landed on a young man who was making his way through the crowd, blending perfectly into it thanks to the rags he was wearing. He was most likely in his early twenties, of average height and well built. His hair was black and he had a dark stubble.

 

If it wasn’t for Hisoka’s sixth sense, he would have gone completely unnoticed.

 

_Found you~_

 

The sixteen year old licked his lips in delight and charged at full speed, playing cards in hand and itching for a good fight.

 

The man reacted immediately, as if already ready for the attack, he caught all the cards thrown at him and managed to immobilize the boy, all of this taking no longer than a moment.

 

Hisoka was so stunned his whine of pleasure got stuck in his throat.

 

“Don’t go picking fights with pro-hunters dude, you’ll never win the way you are now” the stranger seemed to be considering something, then he nodded “You seem strong so I’m sure you’ll survive” he said before punching the kid with such an incredible power he screamed out in pain and fell to the ground.

 

The traveler placed the playing cards on the asphalt next to his face “You might even thank me for this one day” Then he left, whistling and unconcerned, leaving the injured boy in the middle of the road.

_Well, that didn’t go as expected~_

 

Hisoka emitted a sound resembling a laugh and coughed up blood.

 

When he woke up, he was being poked with a stick like some kind of dead animal.

 

“Looks like he’s still breathing” he heard someone say, “Maybe he got done in by bandits…or not, he still has his backpack.” more poking “Moritonio, let’s hurry” said someone else “We still have to prepare for the show, just leave him!”

 

_Rude_

“Boy” the word was spoken with authority showing the person who it belonged to knew he was conscious “Can you speak? I am Moritonio, a traveling performer, who are you?”

 

Hisoka opened his eyes and clicked his tongue when light invaded his vision, making his head throb. The boy quickly realized he wasn’t going to be in a state to fight for at least a few days so he decided to play nice and let them take care of him.

 

“Hisoka” he replied, delivering the word as a joke.

 

 

Moritonio’s troupe was quite famous, Hisoka watched as people gathered around in haste in order to see the show.

 

Because of his mysterious injury, the boy had missed the one they did the week before, but now that he was healed he could observe the member’s performances and estimate their combat ability from his seat in the audience.

 

_Hmm, not bad, not quite enough to get me excited but they will have to do_

 

By the end, Hisoka was getting restless, he hadn’t fought anybody in too long so he couldn’t wait to get his hands on one of the more talented ones in the troupe.

 

“It’s Moritonio!” the crowd went wild at the appearance of the man “Sky swimming, sky swimming!” they all started chanting.

 

The boy kept his eyes glued to him.

 

Moritonio walked slowly and elegantly until the middle of the stage then the jumped and started…floating.

 

The crowd’s cheers went louder and louder as the man defied gravity by walking on the walls and the ceiling of the arena, Hisoka’s surprise didn’t last long, immediately looking at his surroundings in order to find the trick, to his frustration, he could only find clues.

 

When Moritonio had started floating, the audience’s metallic belongings had all been pulled towards the top of the arena so it was safe to assume the technique had something to do with magnetic forces, the second hint was the thick translucent substance surrounding the man’s body.

 

Hisoka was trembling in delight at the new revelations.

 

_How very intriguing~_

 

After the show, the boy immediately got someone to escort him to Moritonio’s office.

 

When they arrived, the boss was in the middle of a discussion with the ‘Strongest Man’ and his woman, they were probably talking about Hisoka himself. The man dismissed them as soon as he saw him.

 

“Oh~?” the boy feigned ignorance “It seems I have intruded on something~” he leaned against a desk and put a hand on his hip.

 

The man walked towards him and handed him Hisoka’s own playing cards “These were next to you when we found you. Can you do any tricks or the like?”

 

Hisoka smirked and took them “Why of course I can~” he purred and spread the cards out in a fan without even mixing them, confident in his skills.

 

“Pick a card, any card~” Moritonio did so and then put it back on the top of the deck as instructed by the boy.

 

“Now let’s mix them up okay? You’ll be doing it like this: divide them in two halves and put one over the other for as many times as you want” Hisoka demonstrated by putting half the deck on the desk and the other half over it.

 

The man shuffled the cards making sure to divide the two piles differently each time and put them back down. Hisoka collected the deck and looked through it frowning dramatically “Looks like the two of spades became invisible!” he pretended to pick out a card and handed it to him “Can you hold it for me?”

 

Moritonio blinked in surprise: the boy already knew what he had picked. He decided to play along taking the ‘invisible card’ in his hands. The boy chuckled under his breath and closed the deck, holding it into his left hand.

 

“Now I want you to choose any number between let’s say five and twenty five” while he was saying that, he counted off three cards in his right hand and put them back in his left to demonstrate what he was going to do with the number.

 

“Thirteen” Moritonio said and then observed Hisoka as he put the cards down one by one.

 

“Now of course, when I will turn this last card it won’t be the one you chose because it is now invisible and you’re the one holding it.” he boy turned the card revealing a three of diamonds then he took the cards from the desk and put them back on top of the deck.

 

“Could you please place it here?~” after the ‘invisible card’ was back in his hand with all the others, Hisoka snapped his fingers “I made that card visible again so let’s get counting~”

 

The man stared in awe as the boy counted to thirteen and presented him the two of spades “And here it is~”

 

Moritonio started clapping “Bravo! Even better than me!” he exclaimed, “Who taught you?”

 

“My mama was a very skillful woman~” he replied smirking.

 

 

Abaki pouted while watching Moritonio and Hisoka chat pleasantly, seemingly unaware of her presence.

 

“Boss!” the two turned towards her, the boy smirking knowingly “It’s time for my training did you forget?” she crossed her arms over her chest, upset by the revelation Hisoka had been ignoring her on purpose.

 

Moritonio pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and smiled “So it is! I’ll be right there!” he said, but turned towards the boy once again “Hisoka, ‘A talent is worth its weight in gold above anything else’” he lectured, then, winked “Polish yours, polish it!”

 

While walking out of the room, Abaki shivered at the low chuckle she heard coming from Hisoka, her boss just smiled.

 

The girl couldn’t concentrate on her training. For some reason the presence of Hisoka in the troupe really unsettled her.

 

Moritonio noticed, of course, “Abaki, your Ten is wavering” he warned her.

 

Abaki looked at Moritonio and frowned “Boss, everyone is worried, we think that boy may be involved in something. Why else would have been laying in the middle of the road in that condition? His past and skills are also suspicious, what if he has powerful enemies? What would become of the troupe then?”

 

The girl voiced some of her concern, but that wasn’t all, there was definitely something wrong with Hisoka although she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly.

 

“Careful there! Focus!” Moritonio instructed, “I understand your distress, but I simply cannot bring myself to turn away someone without a home, weren’t you the same once?”

 

Abaki bit her tongue, being called the same as Hisoka just didn’t sit well with her.

 

The man seemed to notice and sighed, “His tricks are quite good and you two are pretty much the same age right? Try to be nice to him”

 

 

After a few days, the girl still hadn’t approached Hisoka.

 

She didn’t want to, being around him made her uneasy, but it was a request from the boss so dismissing it was out of the question.

 

Abaki was walking to her dorm after her training when she saw him.

 

Hisoka was sitting on the floor in the common room humming creepily and building a castle of cards. The girl stopped, she had never really spoken to a boy his age before, she didn’t know how to start her conversation.

 

Abaki watched as he completed his castle and took the first step, deciding to compliment him on it, but before she could, Hisoka knocked his own creation to the floor.

 

The boy let out a disturbing laugh with an unreadable look in his eyes, Abaki took a step back suddenly afraid, but he turned around to face her, laughter still in his features “Aren’t you going to join me, darling~”

 

The girl reluctantly walked towards him and attempted a smile “You really like cards don’t you?” she said.

 

Her shaking voice seemed to amuse him, he patted the floor beside him, a poorly veiled order “Abaki, one of the side performers, you do tricks involving jumping rope,” Hisoka stated.

 

He started gathering his cards, “You’re secretly practicing whip techniques in hope of becoming a lion tamer, quite the aspiration you’ve got there~” he smirked at her look of surprise “Don’t worry, I’m the only one who noticed~ I won’t tell Rosa you’re after her job” he winked.

 

Abaki couldn’t help but feel as if she was being threatened “If you want to know what my training with the boss is about, I won’t tell you.” She glared at him despite her fear, ready to fight to keep her secret from him.

 

Hisoka made a show of making the cards disappear in his hands, then, he caressed her check and leaned in “You have such scared, defiant eyes” he said in a low voice “Beautiful~” his grip on her face tightened and he dug his nails in her flesh making her gasp, he took that instant to kiss her deeply.

 

The girl, bit down on his lip, making him bleed. She jumped to her feet “What are you doing?!” she asked, blushing bright red.

 

Hisoka got up in one smooth motion and wiped the blood off his smirk “My, my~ was that perhaps your first kiss?” her blush deepened which made the boy chuckle “That’s so cute~”.

 

Abaki had never felt so humiliated “You’re one crazy bastard!” tears were starting to form at the corners of her eyes, the boy didn’t care he just raised an eyebrow and came closer.

 

“You should learn to be more honest with yourself~ I may be crazy indeed, but what does that make you? Enjoying that joke of a kiss, you must be a total pervert~” and just like that he walked away, leaving the girl angry and confused.

 

 

“Abaki, why are you avoiding the poor boy? All you do is glare at him from across the room, I thought I told you to get along with him” Moritonio paid the store clerk and passed her some of the plastic bags.

 

She had known something was suspicious when her boss volunteered to help her with her chores, but she wasn’t expecting to get scolded for ignoring that creep “I tried to talk to him and all he did was make fun of me, I’d rather not associate with him.” She said, trying her best to keep the irritation out of her voice.

 

Moritonio sighed, “I’m quite disappointed in you” Abaki clicked her tongue and looked for something that could change the conversation “Boss, looks like there’s a serial killer in town” she said, pointing at one of the many ‘wanted’ posters.

 

“Oh, it’s Hundred-face John Doe” the man seemed to have heard of him “Apparently he kills all of his victims in the same way” he paused, stroking his beard “He crushes them to death” the corner of his lips twitched at Abaki’s shocked expression.

 

The girl regained her composure “I understand what ‘Hundred-faced’ means, but what’s ‘John Doe’?” she asked, curious.

 

“It’s an old name, it’s used to refer to a fictional individual” Moritonio explained “Judging by the fact the victims are killed in the same way, it’s safe to assume the same person did it, but every time footage of the culprit is caught, it seems his appearance is different. He’s a true master of disguise, this entire wall of ‘wanted’ prints are him”

 

Abaki scowled at the posters “What a nasty fellow, he’s probably getting caught on tape on purpose, the showoff!” Moritonio threw his head back and laughed loudly “Just make sure to be careful okay? No walking in alleyways at night!”

 

When they returned, Toby came to get them in a rush “Tonio! It’s Kishita, he’s injured” the man led them to the training gym, the juggler was on the ground holding his leg in pain, his partner Yasuda was by his side.

 

“What happened?” asked the boss, “Sorry Tonio, I lost my footage during practice. I think it’s broken” Moritonio rubbed his temples “Today we’re at the Princess Hotel. It could have been the perfect occasion to clean up our routine before our Royal Glam performance but…” said Yasuda.

 

“We’ll do without the juggling act for today” the boss announced “The problem is who we should replace it with..” the troupe members looked at one another, concerned.

 

“Allow me!” Abaki turned toward the voice and frowned. Hisoka was slowly making his way towards the group of performers “You?!” she exclaimed, ticked off by his insolence.

 

“What? are you going to do a card trick on stage?” Yasuda retorted frustrated, the boy shook his head and smirked “No, no~ I’m going to do the juggling routine in Kishita’s place” he picked up four bowling pins and narrowed his eyes at the adult, a challenge.

 

Moritonio put his hand on Yasuda’s shoulder before the man could attack Hisoka “Boy, are you playing games?” he asked, tone even.

 

Hisoka smirked and started juggling the pins, effortlessly recreating the professional’s routine “Of course~ I’ve seen them practice hundreds of times already~”

 

Yasuda was enraged “Fine, you do it then” he said before picking up his partner and storming out, Abaki looked at the boss “Is this really okay?” she asked “It should be interesting, don’t you think?” came the carefree answer.

 

 

_Why do I have to do this?_

As instructed by the boss, Abaki was helping Hisoka get ready in her dressing room at the Princess Hotel.

 

The boy, as if reading her mind, chuckled and took off his clothes while looking through her things, clearly trying to get a reaction out of her “Why darling, thank you so much for volunteering to see me naked~” the girl, whose cheeks were starting to turn red, turned her face away and closed her eyes.

 

By the time she decided to look again, Hisoka was wearing a pair of red cotton boat shoes that were too big for her and one of her jersey rompers; it was white with a red exclamation point on the front and back of it, the fabric stretched dangerously around his muscular chest and shoulders.

 

The boy was sat at the small vanity and was taking out some cosmetics and makeup brushes from his tattered backpack “why do you even have those?” she asked before she could stop herself.

 

Hisoka ignored her question and motioned for her to come closer “Look who decided to join me~!” he exclaimed sarcastically, she just rolled her eyes and grabbed the silver hairbrush that was on the vanity.

 

Abaki started brushing the boy’s hair back and applying hairspray to it “You’ll hair won’t get in the way this way” she explained when the boy raised his eyebrow at her from the mirror “When will _you_ ever answer one of _my_ questions?” she grumbled.

 

The girl watched as Hisoka carefully shaved his eyebrows to make them thinner and more arched. He covered them in pale foundation along with the rest of his face and neck, then, he expertly drew over them with eye shadow and a damp brush.

 

He snorted when he saw her puzzled expression in the mirror and continued his makeup routine by applying eyeliner and bright red lipstick, he blew a kiss at her and laughed when the girl pretended to crush it in her hands and throw it in the garbage bin across the room.

 

Abaki couldn’t help but letting out a small chuckle as well.

 

While the boy was in the middle of drawing a yellow star on his right cheek, matching the blue teardrop on his left, there was a knock on the door and Yasuda came in “We’re up in 10” he was wearing a red top and bandana, his simple face paint was black.

 

The man made a face and clicked his tongue at the boy’s makeup and outfit, Abaki noticed and frowned, annoyed for some reason “Is that all you came to say?” she snapped, Hisoka smirked knowingly.

 

Yasuda narrowed his eyes at the two “We’ll be doing the same routine as usual, don’t mess it up, brat.” he said before leaving the room.

 

“Abaki-chan, my knight in shining armor!” Hisoka cried dramatically and fell in the girl’s arms, she dropped him and walked to her suitcase where she pulled out two identical bronze bracelets.

 

She handed them to the boy “Good luck you crazy bastard.” she said, before he could retort she pushed him out of the door “Now get out! I need to get ready too”

 

Abaki ignored the irritating laugh coming from the hallway and started undressing.

 

By the time she made it backstage, the juggling act was nearly over. Hisoka and Yasuda were standing each on an elevated pillar while exchanging pins back and forth between each other “That little shit actually memorized the entire thing…” the girl mumbled to herself and waited for the grand finale.

 

Abaki had seen Yasuda and Kishita’s performance many times before, so when the man in the red bandana picked up the pace she immediately understood something was off. Moritonio, who was standing beside her, noticed as well and let out a chuckle.

 

_Catch this if you can, you queer._

 

The man simultaneously jumped and spun his pins sideways on the palm of his hand, he then launched them full force and landed in a seated position on his pillar looking smug. Hisoka, completely unfazed, caught the pins in his hand and repeated the move as if he’d practiced it for years.

 

That night Yasuda quietly left the troupe, never to put foot on stage again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka's card trick inspiration (actually i just copied it lmao)
> 
> https://youtu.be/REfNgmCy878


	6. A Very Special Skill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka learns how to use Nen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back~? it's me! your favourite piece of trash, at your service *peace sign*
> 
> for those who didn't know, i edited the previous chapter and added more to the last one so you might want to check it out.
> 
> Also as some of you may have noticed i took the liberty to change Abaki's personality to a less bland one, i hate writing about characters who act like furniture even though they appear a lot lmao

Hisoka wiped a damp cloth on his face removing the last of his makeup and stared at his face in the mirror.

 

There was a small bluish bruise on his cheekbone where one of the pins had hit him before he had caught it. The boy caressed it then pressed a finger on it, feeling the pain.

 

_I’m going to bash that man’s head in with those damned things~_

 

Hisoka put his belongings back in his backpack and took off the bracelets Abaki had given him, placing them on the vanity.

 

He was in the middle of taking his underwear off when the door to the changing room burst open “ _How_ the _Hell_ did you do th-AAAAAAH!” the girl put her hands in front of her eyes “Why are you always naked?!” she asked, panicked.

 

The boy laughed gleefully and locked the door, he didn’t bother to put his boxers back on before hugging the girl from behind, holding her close to his chest “You seem to have a talent for putting me in a good mood~” he purred in her ear, making his point clear by pressing his half-hard dick against her thigh.

 

Abaki struggled to set herself free, blushing and outraged “Hisoka if you don’t let go of me I swear to the Gods!” she threatened, but her voice was shaking. Hisoka hummed, not listening, and moved her hair to the side.

 

He started licking and kissing her neck while stroking her sides, the girl cursed and stepped down on his toes with her heel, he didn’t budge “You’re always so rude to me” he said “What did I ever do to you~?” Abaki bit the finger that was making its way into her mouth, the boy laughed “Oh come on! It’s not like I’m the only one who’s thought of doing this~” he whispered, teasing.

 

It would have been a lie to say she hadn’t imagined him in that kind of context. There was a twisted attractiveness to the boy’s charisma and bizarre thought process, he was an intriguing enigma that one couldn’t help being drawn to and, after spending two weeks actively keeping her distance from him, she had ended up becoming increasingly more conscious of him instead.

 

When Hisoka slid his warm and now bloodied finger under her dress and pushed it inside her, she didn’t protest.

 

While working on inserting another finger, Hisoka started massaging her breasts, gently and then with force, Abaki bit the inside of her cheek preventing a whimper of pleasure from leaving her lips. He spun her around and kissed her, forcefully guiding her towards the red chaise longue on the other side of the room.

 

The boy pushed her down on it and lay himself on top of her, he started taking her panties off, Abaki let him. When he positioned himself in order to enter her, the girl dug her nails in his biceps and dragged them all the way to his wrist, leaving deep bleeding marks “I hate you” she said glaring heatedly into his eyes, Hisoka moaned, incredibly aroused, and thrust into her in one swift motion.

 

Abaki woke up because of the insistent sound of knocking on the door, her previously sweaty body had been wiped clean and a sweater lay over her like a blanket.

 

Hisoka and his things were nowhere in site.

 

“Abaki! Abaki are you there?” Rosa’s alarmed voice came from the hallway, the girl put the sweater on and opened the door sleepily. The woman hugged her tight “I’m so glad you’re okay! Everyone was ready to go, I asked the brat about you and he said he put you to sleep, you should have heard the way he said it! We were so worried!”

 

When she and Rosa entered the hotel lobby, Borizoi let go of Hisoka’s neck and dropped him onto the floor, “Told you she was sleeping~” the boy wheezed looking directly into her eyes, grinning.

 

Abaki ignored him and made her way to the exit where Moritonio was waiting “I apologize for being late.” She said “But I am very tired so now that we’re all here I’d like to go home and rest” the man nodded and led the way outside, troupe following obediently after him.

 

 

Abaki was with Moritonio, they were watching the other performers practice.

 

When Hisoka sat next to her, everyone stopped what they were doing at once, that made him laugh, entertained “How peculiar~ this has been happening for the whole week!” he exclaimed in mock surprise, the girl rolled her eyes unamused.

 

“After the stunt you pulled at the Princess Hotel, they’re afraid you might steal their techniques,” she pinched his cheeks and started pulling on them, irritated “Knowing you, you probably don’t have any intention to steal any of them anyways” she let go of him and flicked the boy on the forehead.

 

Moritonio raised his eyebrow at the interaction but decided not to comment on it.

 

“That’s not true Abaki-chan! There is a certain ability I would _love_ to make my own.” Hisoka said, while rubbing the sore spot on his head “Moritonio’s Sky Swimming!” he announced “It looks like it would be lots of fun~”

 

The man in question chucked “Well, sorry but I won’t be teaching it to you anytime soon,” he said “That trick’s not a matter of talent but something else entirely”.

 

Hisoka smirked “Indeed it is~ and it probably has something to do with that wispy stuff surrounding both of your bodies” Abaki stared at him, shocked “Oh my~ it seems I’m right!” Moritonio furrowed his brow at the boy.

 

_Can Hisoka actually see our Aura? Is it because of his innate sharp senses and genius observational skills? No, of course not, they may have helped, but he must have been exposed to someone’s Hatsu…_

 

“The substance you see is called Aura, everyone has it.” the man explained, ignoring the girl’s protests “Look at your own body, you should be able to see a faint film of light covering it”

 

Hisoka looked at his hand and pouted “Mine looks so weak~” he whined “Yours looks much fuller, even Abaki-chan’s looks tastier~” Abaki scowled at his words.

 

“The ability to control one’s Aura is called Nen” Moritonio looked at Hisoka “People who train and polish their Aura in order to enhance and transform it for their benefit are called Nen Users. I’m one myself and Abaki is training under my instruction”

 

“Aura normally flows away from the body, the act of keeping it gathered around you and letting it stream through you without letting it escape is known as Ten.” The man demonstrated by shrouding himself in a thick, dark layer of Aura “Once one has learned Ten, Ren can be used to produce a stronger current of aura and project it outwards, show him Abaki” he instructed.

 

A coat of Aura enveloped the girl, weaker than Moritonio’s own but impressive none the less. Abaki changed her stance to a stable and solid one “Ren!” Suddenly the emission of aura coming from her body strengthened and doubled making goose bumps form on Hisoka’s body. All of the boy’s instincts were screaming danger just like they had when he had spotted the traveler dressed in rags.

 

“That is Ren. To master Ren one must have a polished Ten ability, if you’re quick it you should take you around a year to develop your Ten to a reasonable degree, Abaki only took nine months.” He bragged on behalf of his student “I’ll train you too, once per week, on the condition that you’ll take part in our performances. Getting to Abaki’s level will however take you up to three years.”

 

The boy smirked, eyes wild. He would have never believed he’d come across such a gem during his time in Glam Gas Land “How _very_ fascinating~” he hummed “Okay then, I accept your conditions~”

 

 

Abaki breathed heavily as Hisoka thrust into her over and over. He was looking at the girl with pure hunger, even more captivated by her since discovering the power she carried. She cried out and bit the boy’s collarbone as she came, him following soon after.

 

“Gods be damned!” she complained loudly, Hisoka came out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel and gave her a questioning look “Your dumbass left marks on my neck again! These are definitely going to show on stage”

 

He walked over to the room’s vanity and wrapped his arms around her “Don’t worry, nobody will pay attention to you anyways~” he provoked and sneered at her through the mirror. The girl elbowed him in the ribs and walked towards their suitcases.

 

Sharing hotel rooms before going on stage had become a habit for them in the past month. They flawlessly went through their routine of getting ready, Hisoka was fastening the girl’s corset when he inquired about the reason why none of the other troupe members knew Nen.

 

“The Boss tried many times to teach them but until now, I was the only one with enough potential to get it” came the almost immediate answer “You’ve become so talkative lately, Abaki-chan~” Hisoka teased, she clicked her tongue at him and continued her explanation “Boss originally wanted to be a Hunter, but he failed the exam. Apparently only one person passed that year.” she frowned.

 

“Seeing someone so incredibly talented breeze through the difficult tests must have saddened and frustrated him to no end. Teaching us Nen must be his way of clinging to his dream. He must have been so impressed when you mastered Ten and Ren in a week!” she praised him, then, realizing what she had done she cleared her throat “Anyways, one day I’m going to become a Hunter myself and fulfill his dream in his place!” she announced.

 

The boy smirked and patted her on the back to signal he was done tying her corset “And what exactly are you going to hunt?~” he asked “You probably have no idea~” he teased her and laughed when she turned around to glare at him, face red in frustration “I’m still deciding!” she yelled which made him more amused “Oh? That’s a pretty vague dream you’ve got there~”

 

Abaki crossed her arms over her chest “I want to travel the world so I thought about becoming an Archeological Hunter, but I also love delicious food so a Gourmet Hunter would be better, but then-”

 

Hisoka watched her struggle with an almost fond look in his eyes “Want some Bungee Gum?” he asked and offered the girl a piece of cheap chewing gum “I’ll give you as many as you want, It will help you calm down~”

 

“I am calm!” she screamed, but took the gum anyways, the boy laughed and left the room, heading towards the stage.

 

That night, Moritonio was waiting for them in his office, sitting on his desk was a glass filled with water with a leaf on it “Practicing Ten and Ren everyday while sparring against each other weekly has greatly improved the quality of your Aura” he said and motioned them to come closer.

 

“Nen Users are divided into six types: Manipulators, Emitters, Enhancers, Transmuters, Conjurers and Specialists” He drew a hexagon on a blackboard and wrote those terms on each one of the figure’s points “Your Hatsu will manifest differently depending on which one of these categories you belong to, understood?” both his students nodded.

 

“Manipulators are able to control both living creatures and inanimate objects” Abaki’s eyes shined “Emitters can separate their Aura from their body while maintaining its functions, Enhancers reinforce the natural abilities of themselves or an inanimate object, do you follow me so far?” the teens nodded again.

 

Moritonio proceeded to describe the other three styles “Transmuters like myself, are able to modify the properties of their Aura to mimic something else, Conjurers are able to create a material objects out of their aura, knives for example” the look of realization on Hisoka’s face was quickly replaced by a sour smirk.

 

_You brought quite the secret to your grave didn’t you~_

 

“Last but not least, there’s Specialists, these Nen Users’s Aura manifests in peculiar ways and they develop very unique powers because of it. It is possible to become a Specialist later in life although this is more likely for Conjurers and Manipulators.” Moritonio pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose “Any questions?”.

 

Hisoka raised his hand flamboyantly “Yes~! If someone is an Enhancer, is it impossible for them to learn Emitter techniques, for example?” he asked.

 

The man shook his head“Most Nen Users possess an affinity for one Aura type, but it is still possible for them to learn abilities of the other ones. The closer on the diagram an Aura type is to your own, the easier it will be for you to learn its techniques, the farther away the harder.”

 

The boy stared intensely at him, fully interested in the direction the conversation was going “So, how do we figure out which category we belong to~?” Hisoka asked, eager to learn more, Moritonio was twitching, as excited as the boy to figure out his students’ Nen type.

 

_An ambitious child, how lovely!_

 

“To do that, we use water divination: you place your hands around a glass of water and perform Ren, based on the changes that occur to it, you can determine what class you belong to” the man walked to his desk and demonstrated by doing just that.

 

Moritonio handed the glass to Abaki “Taste it” he instructed, the girl did so and scrunched up her nose in disgust “It’s bitter!” Hisoka clapped and laughed “How interesting~!”

 

“A change in the taste of the water indicates that I’m a Transmuter, go ahead Abaki, you’re next.” She engulfed the glass in Aura and the water began to change until it was slightly green “Seems like you’re an Emitter” the man proclaimed.

 

“I was kind of hoping I’d be a Manipulator, I could have definitely used that ability to control animals like lions…” Abaki mumbled, somehow upset at the outcome.

 

The boy smirked and took the glass from her infusing his own Aura into it “Nothing happened” the girl, looked confused, but Hisoka seemed satisfied. He shoved the glass in her face making her drink the water “What the Hell!” she sputtered “It’s _sour_!”

 

Moritonio chucked “You’re a Tansmuter, same as me!” he stated “We’ll be focusing on some basic training for now. I want you two to polish your Nen abilities until you can strengthen the degree of the change you’ve just demonstrated, but keep in mind that our Royal Glam performance is next week! Don’t neglect your other training!”

 

 

“That’s it for my shopping list” Abaki stretched, the sun had already set and it was getting colder “Guess I’ll head home now!” she was making her way to the main road when she heard a gut wrenching scream, the girl instinctively grabbed her jumping rope and ran towards it, ready to help.

 

The girl paled once she arrived at the scene. A woman lay on the ground and a man was stepping on her abdomen. The crunching sound of her body being compressed between a mysterious force and the pavement echoed in the air “Plea- Help m-!”

 

_John Doe!_

 

Abaki sprinted forward, trying her best not to flinch at the occasional snap of a new bone being broken, she focused part of her Aura in the jumping rope in her hand and whipped it towards him. The man avoided the attack, the rope connecting with the wall behind him.

 

_What?! A regular person shouldn’t be able to avoid an attack infused with Nen!_

 

Another agonized scream came from the victim, the force crushing her had resumed despite John Doe being more than ten feet away from her. Abaki stared in horror as the woman’s flesh ripped and organs started to spill out of her.

 

“You bastard!” the girl screamed and charged towards the killer now sure that he was a Nen User. She folded her jumping rope in half, shrouded it in a bigger amount of Aura than she had before and swung it, aiming for John Doe’s head.

 

The man caught the weapon easily and kneed Abaki in the stomach, she coughed up blood and fell on the ground. Before John Doe could step on her, Hisoka appeared seemingly out of nowhere and cut the man’s eye with a Nen coated ace of spades.

 

“Out for a walk? How fun~” the boy smirked, excited for the fight to come, but John Doe retreated, disappearing into the night.

 

Hisoka pouted comically and lifted the card to his lips in order to lick it clean, when he noticed a piece of cloth stuck on the ace where blood should have been, his eyes shined and he smirked.

 

_A mask~ how interesting~_

 

Abaki was on her knees next to the mutilated body of the woman. She was shaking and pale, but there was fury in her eyes “Fow how long have you been here?” she asked, tone strained “For how long did you stand doing nothing? You could have brought her to safety but you just hid, studying the enemy, waiting for your chance to ‘have some fun’ didn’t you?!” the girl raised her voice and punched a hole in the pavement “Answer me, Hisoka!”

 

The boy narrowed his eyes at her, suddenly annoyed “Aren’t you just blaming me for your inability to save her?” he accused “Even though I could have minded my own business until the end, I just saved your life did I not? Where do you get the confidence to lecture me after that I wonder~?” Hisoka made his card disappear and started walking away “You’re welcome by the way” he spat.

 

The girl sat there biting her lip, tears of frustration started falling from her eyes and didn’t stop even hours later, when the police reached the scene.

 

 

Hisoka arrived ‘home’ in the early hours of the morning, covered in blood, his weak victims having done nothing to ease his displeasure from the night before. He was careful to hide from the police cars coming from the entrance of the building and walked inside.

 

The troupe members were so engrossed in their own conversation, they didn’t even notice him “I overheard Boss and the police talking! It seems Abaki ran into John Doe last night!” “The serial killer?! Is she okay?” “Apparently she tried to fight him! How reckless!” “How scary! We better be careful too!” The boy’s mood worsened at the mention of her name, he decided to make his presence known.

 

Hisoka smirked bitterly “Gossip spreads fast doesn’t it~” they turned around, their faces changing into different expressions of shock at the sight of him “Hisoka! What have you done?!” the boy faked a yawn “I have no idea what you’re talking about~” he answered and waited for one of them to lose their temper.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Before any of the troupe members could lay a hand on the boy, Abaki killed their actions with her simple question, spoken like an order. She was standing at the door, wet hair dripping on the floor, her eyes were ablaze “You’re filthy” she told Hisoka with firmness in her tone “Get your ass in the shower” she commanded.

 

The boy licked his lips part of his irritation instantly changing into arousal. He took a good look at her eyes and considered attacking, but decided to admit defeat instead “Aye aye, captain!” he saluted, mocking her authority then he blew a kiss at the others and made his way to the common baths, whistling annoyingly.

 

_She’s not ripe just yet~ I’ll have to wait if I want this fight to be fun~_

 

Hisoka stared at his erection in the bath, Abaki’s insolence in the past day had really gotten to him and the fight against the mysterious serial killer was only heightening the feelings of pleasure within him.

 

He smirked, channeled his emotion into his Aura and released it. The Nen infused water immediately started becoming pink and viscous, it stuck to his hand when he lifted it out of the bath and snapped back into it at Hisoka’s silent command.

 

_Perfect~_

 

That night, Kishita tried to stab him in his sleep but of course, Hisoka being Hisoka was already ready for something like that to happen.

 

He successfully disarmed the man and dragged him down onto his dorm bed. He covered Kishita’s mouth with one hand and pointed the knife to his throat “I’m going to take my hand off now~ if you scream, you’re dead, if you struggle, you’re dead, if you tell boss what I’m going to do… well, you get the picture don’t you, big boy~?” he threatened.

 

“If you understand blink once, if you would rather die, blink twice~” The man blinked once, surprise and terror clear in his eyes. The boy took his hand off his mouth and ran it through his hair instead “I’ve actually had my eye on you for quite a while” he licked the droplets of cold sweat from Kishita’s forehead “I’m quite honored that you would decide to join me on this fine night~”

 

The man tried to push him off but the cold blade of the knife pressed harder against his throat “Unfortunately you caught me in a rather bad mood” Hisoka whispered against the other’s lips and started rubbing his erection against Kishita’s groin “Too bad for you, but I’m not kind enough to give you an ‘escape’ option tonight”

 

The boy kissed him and Kishita hopelessly tried to fight his own fear-induced arousal. Out of all of the outcomes of trying to murder the boy, he hadn’t really expected the one he found himself into.

 

Hisoka was indeed good-looking, his sharp, angular features, his long, slightly upturned nose and high cheekbones made the remains of his baby fat almost unnoticeable. His golden, deep-set, almond shaped eyes and thinly plucked arched eyebrows gave him a relaxed, indifferent look and those faintly pursed lips that were smirking more often than not all added to his natural charm and unique charisma. The boy’s body was muscular, but still soft in some points, his sides and plump behind for example. His wavy, chocolate brown hair was the only trait at odds with his image.

 

Hisoka pulled down both of their night garments making the man let out a low moan at the skin on skin friction, he snickered “Shh! We don’t want the others to hear us remember~?”

 

Kishita clicked his tongue and spread Hisoka’s ass cheeks in revenge, prodding at his twitching hole. That made the boy let out a high-pitched whine “I thought we were supposed to be quiet?” he asked amused “I seem to have underestimated you~ you’re not nearly as tame as I thought you would be” Hisoka confessed as he started rummaging under his thin mattress.

 

One if the man’s hands moved to Hisoka’s “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of you, I think you’re completely nuts. On the other hand it would be a lie to say I’m not ridiculously attracted to you” the boy chuckled “Well, aren’t you an honest one~?” he teased.

 

Hisoka gave the man a half empty bottle of lube and flipped them over, pointing the knife to his back “I’m feeling lazy today~” he said while kicking off his pants completely “Make me feel good yeah?~” he winked. Kishita rolled his eyes “You’re such a cheeky fucker” he said and put a pillow under the boy’s hips.

 

The stretch of fingers entering him had his toes curling, the boy bit down on his bottom lip in order to keep quiet. He hadn’t been with a man in months and Kishita was being so impatient and unmerciful, Hisoka _loved_ it. It wasn’t long before he was begging for more, the man complied more than willingly.

 

The cheap metal bed frame creaked with every violent thrust of Kishita’s hips and Hisoka was finding it harder and harder to keep lucid, but a loud cough snapped both of them out of their trance “ _What_ the _fuck_ , Kishita?” Toby and Raj were looking at them with disgust in their eyes.

 

“Oh boy~” the man pulled out and looked down in shame and embarrassment, but Hisoka didn’t seem bothered, he just dropped the knife on the floor and sat up “It seems we’ve woken up the roomies” he joked inappropriately.

 

That night Kishida packed his things in silence and left the troupe.

 

 

The performance at the Royal Glam Hotel went beautifully despite Hisoka choreographing and carrying out the juggling act on his own. The head of the Glam Clan was so delighted and impressed by the troupe, he cheered the whole time. The members were so moved by the enormous praise and applause from the man, they shed tears of joy.

 

Hisoka followed Moritonio out of the banquet room where the others were celebrating their success. The man walked toward the arena “It was so full of people here just a few hours ago, now it’s so quiet. It’s always a bit lonely after a show” the boy walked closer to him “While he casts his magic, the magician falls under his own spell, and when it’s over, all that is left is a man. I guess us knowing there is no such thing as magic makes it all the more glum.” Moritonio sat on one of the stands.

 

Hisoka furrowed his brow and tilted his head at the man’s depressing words “I was just thinking, what will the troupe’s life from now on? If possible I would like you to continue performing with us.” The boy squatted next to him “Say, Hisoka, why were you laying face down in the middle of the road like that? This is a perfect chance to get to know one another better.” the man asked.

 

“I have no interest in blabbing about my past, I don’t really care about it~” answered Hisoka, Moritonio sighed “Come on, let’s be transparent with each other. Tell me and I’ll reveal something about myself” the boy smirked.

 

“In that case, why don’t you tell me something about yourself first?” the man frowned at how difficult he was being “Has your left eye healed yet, John Doe~?” Moritonio blinked, seemingly unperturbed “What about John Doe?”

 

The boy rolled his eyes “Your cheek is peeling~” the man brought a hand to his face “As I thought~” Hisoka snickered “You really did have something stuck there!” Moritonio furrowed his brow and looked down “I must have gotten soft with age…to think I would fall for something like that” he mumbled.

 

“I’ve always loved seeing the surprised look on people’s faces,” Moritonio confessed “I loved engulfing another with an overwhelming power presence, I used to show my tricks to my family all the time. I wanted to see their surprised faces oh so badly…” he faced the boy “I ended up killing my little sister for it.”

 

“To cling to my humanity, I decided to become a Hunter, then a travelling performer. I wanted to surprise and shock people in different ways but as the years passed, I grew restless, my blood would run so hot and wild I couldn’t calm down until I’d broken someone.” the boy yawned, bored with the long explanation “You are right, I am John Doe, what of it?”

 

Hisoka stretched his limbs like one would do after a good sleep “Serial killer or charlatan, whatever you are, I couldn’t care less” he said and got up “You like surprising people, right? Try me~” he purred.

 

The corner of Moritonio’s mouth twitched “I’m sure you’ll allow me to use whatever method I see fit” he said and promptly avoided the playing card thrown at him.

 

The boy charged, playing cards in hand, he aimed to slash the other’s face but before he could, the man threw his fedora over his face. Hisoka snorted at the move and ducked, successfully avoiding a kick to the head.

 

Moritonio blocked a blow to his chin and countered with a punch to the gut “Well, here I come then” he announced, Hisoka jumped back and coughed “Please do~” he whimpered, the man frowned, unsatisfied. Lust wasn’t the reaction he was trying to get from his opponent

 

“Actually, since you were the first one to discover my secret, I’ll give you a little reward.” Moritonio materialized a handkerchief in his left hand “As you can see this is just a regular piece of cloth, now, if I put it on my face like this and imagine the appearance I want to take…”

 

Hisoka watched as the man’s facial features morphed into completely different ones “Fascinating” he stated and licked his lips.

 

Moritonio, now pleased, removed the handkerchief in one swift motion and bowed “And that was the trick behind John Doe’s magic.” he raised one hand towards the boy “Now, let me show you some of my own!”

 

A strong force collided with Hisoka’s side at an amazing speed making his right elbow snap, he fell to the ground and another force dropped on him, cracking some of his ribs.

 

_I’m being crushed!_

“Grind, grind, grind…” Moritonio was mumbling to himself with a crazed smile “Hamburger time!” he then exclaimed and, for split second, the force coming from above the boy eased slightly. Hisoka took that time to run away from that spot, behind him, the ground caved and crushed as if something extremely heavy had dropped to the floor.

 

_Holy shit, that was close~_

 

The boy’s ease didn’t last long, almost immediately, two forces hit his sides catching him completely off guard, he coughed up blood “I can feel it, your little body trembling as your bones are getting grinded, your life grating..” Moritonio was shaking in anticipation.

 

_Feel it?_

Hisoka widened his eyes in understanding, half pleased and half disappointed. He sacrificed his ribs and focused all of his Aura in his eyes “Oh~ now I see!” he said, looking down at what appeared to be steel pillars.

 

The boy directed a part of his Aura to where the pillars connected to his body, he used the remaining bigger part to push them away with his hands and made his quick escape to one of the elevated stands of the arena “When did you learn Gyo and Ryu?!” Moritonio shouted confused.

 

Hisoka didn’t pay much attention to him, deciding to examine his wounds instead “A magician never reveals his tricks, but I just discovered yours~” he provoked the adult “During your performances, I noticed the eerie movements of the audience’s metallic belongings, that made me suspect that you were using magnetic fields and metal in your shoes in order to float. The sensation of being crushed between two forces and the particular sound those pillars made just now just confirmed my theory.”

 

_Broken elbow, six cracked ribs, two of which could pierce my lungs, quite a bit of internal bleeding. It’s pretty bad~_

“When you showed me the handkerchief ‘magic’ you were trying to fool me into thinking that all Nen powers are visible weren’t you? That wasn’t very nice~” he examined the expression on Moritonio’s face in search of something, then he smirked.

_No need to retreat, I can win if I play my cards right._

 

Hisoka, done stalling for time, assumed a fighting stance once more, “You can turn your Aura into Nen magnets, quite basic if you ask me~” The man’s eyes twitched.

 

“I suppose hiding it won’t do me any good anymore” Moritonio said, one by one large steel fragments became visible “I’m the type to reveal the full mechanics of my tricks once discovered anyways” the man launched his aura fragments towards the other, but none of them connected, the boy having disappeared in an instant.

 

“Hmm~” Moritonio turned around to find his opponent floating in midair “It’s easier than expected, your ‘swimming’” Hisoka complained, unimpressed.

 

_Yes~ that’s it~ show me more of that unsettled expression!_

“It’s impossible to copy another’s Nen powers!” the man shouted in irritation but he looked panicked none the less. He united some of his pillars together making them bigger and stronger, ready to attack.

 

Hisoka sighed “Aw, is that it for the reveals?” he whined “What a shame~ I guess it’s time to end this performance then, with my _own_ magic~” he snapped his fingers.

 

All of the magnets started moving towards the man.

 

 

 

The boy nudged Moritonio’s head with his foot, he coughed “Oh good, you’re still alive~” a feeble question came out of the man’s mouth “How?”

 

Hisoka considered not answering, but he figured he could still get some amusement out of the reaction to his explanation “Very well” he started “It’s a very simple trick~ my Aura has the properties of both rubber and gum, you see. All I had to do was connect all of pillars to your body and contract, you made it so easy to crush you~ when you stuck your magnets together the force of the contraction doubled!”

 

The man grumbled, making the boy snicker “I call it Elastic Love: Bungee Gum!” Moritonio closed his eyes “How very like you” he wheezed, exhaling for the last time.

 

What Hisoka did next was but a passing whim, and just as he had copied the juggling act, he easily disguised the man’s face using nothing but a handkerchief.


	7. Zoldyk Family Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi is finally old enough to get a say in the family drama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i the end i decided to split the chapter in two, sorry it's short!

Illumi huffed in irritation as the cold winter air ruffled his hair.

 

He had spent four days in the small remote training yard, relentlessly practicing his “Needle People Hatsu” but he had not yet produced any satisfying results.

 

Unlike his “Corpse Control”, which had taken him no more than a few hours to master, the new technique was proving to be exponentially more difficult and the boy was starting to doubt his ability.

 

As he tied his overgrown bangs out of his face, young Zoldyck wondered if he’d ever be able to control live humans the way his mother could. The thought of losing to her set a fire in him and he immediately resumed his fighting position.

 

His “opponent” was a butler created Nen mannequin made to imitate the aura flow of a regular human, the goal was to “hack” in to that aura flow in order to control its movements.

 

Illumi quickly dodged the dummy’s attack and cringed immediately after piercing a needle in the back of its neck, knowing he had failed once again.

 

The boy was looking dully at the mannequin running in circles in the snowy yard when he heard a snicker escape the mouth of the young butler responsible for the Nen creature. Regret flooded his eyes as Illumi snapped his head in his direction.

 

The assassin’s hair came free from the hairpin holding it back and surrounded his pale face, strands of it lifting towards the sky because of the intense bloodlust seeping from his aura. Sleep deprived and furious he took a menacing step towards the insubordinate scum, ready to rip him to shreds.

 

Suddenly, Illumi blinked and stopped, feeling the presence of someone else making their way to the secluded yard. With a click of his tongue and a flick of his wrist he dismissed the butler, who scurried away in haste, pale as a sheet.

 

By the time the sound of different footsteps reached him, the Zoldyck had completely regained his composure. The boy picked his special needle up from where it had dropped after the dissolving of the Nen dummy and stuck it in his teal turtle neck sweater vest, the footsteps stopped.

 

Illumi turned around, any sign of him being on the brink of an outburst completely gone from his frame “May I help you?” he asked the butler casually.

 

The man visibly gulped, obviously trying to play along and pretend he hadn’t felt the boy’s wave of bloodlust earlier “Good morning, Young Master Illumi, Zeno-sama wishes to see you.”

 

The Zoldyck blinked once, very slowly “Very well” he said and gestured towards the hallway, a clear order for the butler to lead the way.

 

Although his expression was as blank as ever, Illumi’s thoughts were racing, trying to find a reason why his grandfather would have felt the need to summon him, especially considering he could count the conversations he had with the old man on one hand.

 

After his first mission, all of his jobs had been assigned to him by his father alone, more through the Zoldyck communication device than not.

 

_What could have happened for him to want to speak to me directly?_

 

The young Zoldyck started considering scenarios only to systematically dismiss them one by one.

 

_It can’t be because of a job related mistake._

 

Since he was nine, Illumi’s precision during work had greatly increased every year, he was always extra careful not to slip up by religiously following protocol so the possibility of him having done something so grave it required admonishment from the head of the family himself was null.

 

He knew this because, after his first mission, when the butler who had been following him had exposed him for lying about taking out the target himself, all the boy had been met with was Kikyou’s disapproving whipping.

 

Not a word had come from his father or his grandfather.

 

_It surely cannot be because of my newfound relationship with Mother._

Lately Illumi had been making a conscious effort of being nice to the woman in hopes that she would think his ‘rebellious phase’ was over and tolerate him enough to help him out with his manipulation, but once again, it was not something important enough to make Zeno want to pat his head in praise.

 

Not that the old man paid enough attention to him to notice his change in attitude.

 

_Well it is certainly **not** because of the date._

Illumi almost scoffed at the idea. Traditionally, Zoldycks did not celebrate events such as religious festivities or birthdays.

 

Especially not his own.

 

The butler stopped abruptly, making the boy snap out of his thoughts, he sucked in a breath at the sight of the door separating him from Zeno’s office.

 

It was a 3 meters tall and made of black marble, carved into it were two intertwined oriental dragons, Illumi stared at their solemn expressions and gulped, suddenly nervous “Zeno-sama, I have brought Young Master Illumi” the butler announced.

 

“Very well” came the voice from inside “Send him in” the patriarch of the Zoldyck family ordered and the butler opened the heavy door then bowed towards the young master, a gesture that meant he could proceed inside.

Illumi did his best to act unaffected by the unexpectedness of the whole situation and when Zeno motioned him to come closer, he found himself bowing shortly and walking gracefully towards the desk where his grandfather was seated. In his mind, the boy high fived himself.

 

“Good morning, Grandfather, thank you for your time.” he greeted with a steady voice, ignoring the bang of the door closing behind him “I’ve been told you have a matter to discuss with me”

 

The Zoldyck head nodded and stood up from his antique desk chair “Follow me” he ordered and started walking towards his personal library, Illumi obediently followed.

 

Zeno sat down in one of the brown leather armchairs in the room and invited the child to do the same “Happy Birthday. You are thirteen today am I right?”

 

The boy couldn’t fight the slight widening of his eyes “Yes, that is so. Thank you Grandfather” he answered him astonished.

 

For a moment Zeno didn’t speak, instead he scrutinized his grandson with his icy grey eyes “As I thought,” he said out of nowhere and rubbed his hands together “It’s about time I teach you some family secrets”

 

The boy, frozen into spot by his grandfather’s sudden change in attitude, watched as the old man picked a sturdy book from one of the shelves. Its pages were black and so was the leather of its cover.

 

Illumi instantly recognized the book. “The History of Zoldyck” was a manuscript dating to almost a thousand years prier and passed down from generation to generation of Zoldycks in order to preserve the family’s history and rules.

 

Of course the boy was familiar with it, like for all the children of his household it had been a main part of his early childhood education to memorize the contents of that very book until they were permanently tattooed in his mind.

 

Illumi had no idea where the conversation was headed, first his grandfather suddenly started acting familiar with him and now he was showing him a copy of a book he knew by heart, implying there were secrets within it.

 

Zeno passed the manuscript into the younger Zoldyck’s hands and sat back down “This one’s the original” he announced as if that simple statement was enough to explain his weird behaviour.

 

The Zoldyck head chuckled at the puzzled expression on Illumi’s face, somehow always able to read his grandson’s moods “Illumi, can you tell me the origin of rule number five?”

 

_A question as ridiculous as this situation_

_Of course_ he knew the answer “Rule number five: ‘The Zoldyck head must be pale as freshly fallen snow’ the words came out of his mouth automatically “This rule was instituted by the fourth Zoldyck head Boryslav The Cruel after his white haired daughter Valya became the heir.”

 

“Although she was born with blind violet eyes and skin which could not be exposed to sunlight, Valya The Furious was said to be one hundred times stronger than any of her predecessors” Illumi concluded easily, having heard the story at least a million of times.

 

 Zeno nodded “Yes that is correct. Now can you state rule number four?” he asked with an eerie glint in his eyes.

 

“‘The Zoldyck head must be a Transmuter’” Illumi answered easily. Number Four was taught to him by his mother when he was four and had no idea what a Transmuter was.

 

He still remembered the confusion he felt at age six while learning about the genetic experiments Yevgeni The Wise had made to ensure that every generation of Zoldyck children had at least one thick skinned, sighted, white haired Transmuter in their midst.

 

“Wrong.” Illumi blinked in rapid succession.

 

_Wrong??_

Zeno smiled, opened the original manuscript and passed it to his grandson. Upon black paper, although part of it had been crossed out, the elegant silver handwritten sentence clearly stated:

 

_The Zoldyck head must be a Transmuter strong enough to defeat all other contenders to the title_.

 

The boy passed a hand over the black page, the words ‘All other contenders’ sent a shiver down his spine as two words began to form into his mind.

 

_Succession Battles_

“‘Zoldyck family members must not kill one another.’ is a pretty recent rule you know”

 

Succession battles were not uncommon in the past, in fact it was fairly popular to have all possible successors face off against each other until only the strongest remained. Illumi was aware some noble and royal families still did it, but the thought of the method having been used by the Zoldycks had never even crossed his mind.

 

He had never questioned how the only family members mentioned in the book were the various heads, heirs and their spouses. Illumi had always assumed the reason why other siblings were not mentioned was the same for which his father, mother and grandfather seemed to find him and his black haired siblings seemingly invisible.

 

He thought others like him were just ignored, but the truth was far more cruel than that.

 

Unlike him, generation after generation of ‘siblings of the heir’ hadn’t gone through the gruesome training every single day of their childhood in the name of becoming the ‘Ideal Zoldyck’.

 

Those children hadn’t willingly ingested poison, done straining muscle building exercises, studied different martial arts, learned how to wield weapons and underwent hideous torture endurance tests for something that _silly_.

 

Through blood, sweat and tears they had desperately clung onto that mountain of training so, when the time to face each other in battle would inevitably come, they would have had at least some kind of chance of survival against the raw power of their snow white sibling.

 

Generation after generation had suffered through life and died fighting for their right to live only to be reduced to ‘good training’ for the true Zoldyck heir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the original contents of 'chapter 7' lmao:
> 
> bill gates and whoever the fuck invented microsoft word better sleep with an eye open because i am coming for them.
> 
> okay so, many of you may be wondering why in the world i haven't updated yet and well i'll tell you right now.
> 
> so i finished writing chapter 7 on march 11th and after that i was so busy i couldn't even look at my personal laptop, on march 20th i turned on my laptop, planning to finally post my chapter on here.
> 
> of course windows 10 decided to install some updates so i rolled my eyes and made myself tea, by the time my mug was empty, my laptop was done with the update and ready to go right? WRONG
> 
> i opened my word document to revise the latest chapter when....i noticed.....that parts of my chapter.....were missing?????
> 
> the ENTIRE first half of the chapter is missing and other bits and pieces aka FULL PARAGRAPHS are also GONE so basically i was left with a mess to fix.
> 
> i was and am so pissed off that my fairly good writing is gone that filling in the missing parts has been like torture for me, nothing sounds half as right as it did originally and i can't remember the exact sentences i originally wrote for the life of me
> 
> long story short i'm going to post a half-assed version of chapter 7 by the end of this week because if i spend one more second working on it i'm going to go on a fucking murder spree


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